Book Review: The Daisy Chain Flower Shop

The Daisy Chain Flower Shop by Laurie Gilmore and is the latest Dream Harbor book out. I read it earlier this week!

The novel follows Daisy and Elliot. Daisy is the owner of the Daisy Chain Flower Shop and supposedly cursed. After a divorce and a broken engagement, followed by a string of weddings she provided flowers for that ended in divorce the people of Dream Harbor think she’s cursed. This isn’t good for a flower shop owner who makes most of her money from weddings. No one wants to book her for their weddings anymore because they think she’s cursed and now her shop is suffering.

Elliot is an architect and new-ish to Dream Harbor. He came over a year ago and is working on renovating the inn. He first saw Daisy at Logan and Jeanie’s wedding and has had an immediate crush on her. But Elliot has felt unlucky in love as well. He married his college girlfriend, she left him, and he hasn’t dated since. His mom and brother are constantly checking on him and worried that he’s not dating or leaving his house. Now his mom is visiting him in Dream Harbor and hovering over him.

What can solve both Daisy and Elliot’s problems? Fake dating! If they fake date, Daisy will gain some business because people will see she isn’t cursed in love anymore. And if Elliot has a girlfriend, his mom will stop worrying about him. It’s a win-win. The two actually liking each other would be a bonus, except Daisy has sort of sworn off love after her two failed relationships so she doesn’t think actually being involved with Elliot is a good idea. Elliot has always been more on the shy side and doesn’t know what would happen with Daisy, but he likes her enough to want to try. Will Daisy let go of her past and try out a future with Elliot?

I really liked this book. It was so cute and I think it might be spicier than the other Dream Harbor books, but it’s been a while so I might just not remember the spice level of the other books! I liked the plot and loved Elliot and Daisy. I did think Daisy’s hesitance to get together with Elliot for real dragged on for a bit too long (more than 3/4 of the book!) but that’s just my opinion. The history element of the story where Daisy and Elliot found some parallels in their relationship with Daisy’s great aunt and Elliot’s distant cousin was interesting too and I think helped move the story forward as well as added a little mystery.

Read this if you want a small town romcom with the fake dating trope.

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